Kenneth ‘Wally’ Kelley 1943-2015 (Last Surviving Original Member of The Manhattans)

[Zoneboy]

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Kenneth ‘Wally’ Kelley, the last surviving founding member of the Manhattans, has died. Kenneth was 72.

Kenneth passed away, only 2 months after the passings of two other group members, Winfred ‘Blue’ Lovett (9th December 2014) and Edward ‘Sonny’ Bivins (3rd December 2014).

The singer had left the group, a few years ago, in order to follow a career as a qualified teacher in biology.

The Manhattans began their recording careers in the early Sixties (Kenneth had attended the Lincoln High School), after group members had been in the armed forces.

They recorded for Carnival Records, and later, Columbia Records.

Gerald Alston joined the group later on, and performed on their number one hit ‘Kiss and Say Goodbye’, in 1976.

Further hits followed, including ‘Hurt’, ‘I Kinda Miss You’, ’Shining Star’ and ’Crazy’.

Gerald departed the group in 1988, and was replaced by Roger Harris.